GAME REPORT

Greece Take EuroBasket Women 2015 Spot

Pelagia Papamichail and her teammates celebrate their triumph and return to the EuroBasket Women final round

After suffering the disappointment of missing out on a berth at EuroBasket Women 2013, Greece have made amends by becoming the first team to successfully qualify for EuroBasket Women 2015.

Despite losing 57-56 to Poland in the second leg of the EuroBasket Women 2015 First Qualification Round Final, there was still joy for Greek head coach George Dikeoulakos and his players in Wladyslawowo, as they punched their ticket having won the first game by 15 points.

However, it wasn't all smooth going for Greece, who had some tricky waters to navigate and particularly when they had to bench star player Zoi Dimitrakou for a long spell in the first-half after three quick fouls.

Meanwhile it was a frustrating night for Poland, since they gave themselves a dream start with a 10-2 run from tip-off. But, Greece replied with 10 of the next 12 points to level the scores at the end of the first quarter.

Poland then took advantage of Dimitrakou having to sit down and with three-minutes of the half remaining, went in front 29-19 via a score by Joanna Walich.

A triple by Aikaterina Sotiriou, helped Greece get off the ropes and rolling again, as they cut the gap to seven points at the break.

Greece were much improved when they came out for the third quarter, although initially, baskets by Magdalena Leciejewska and Agnieszka Skobel briefly gave the hosts an 11 point lead in the game.

But, the visitors posted an 11-2 run, with Pelagia Papamichail making it 43-43 going into the last quarter.

As hard as they tried, Poland couldn't make a decisive break and whilst they eventually won the game courtesy of a lay-up by Skobel, the tie was still lost by a significant margin.

There were a trio of fantastic displays for Greece with Artemis Spanou contributing 19 points, seven rebounds and six assists. Papamichail claimed 14 points from six of eight floor shooting and Sotiriou led the way with and efficient 17 points to go with seven rebounds and three steals.

Agnieszka Szott-Hejmej stood out for Poland with 14 points although her team will be disappointed they couldn't get their perimeter game to fire and were out-muscled on the boards.

Greece will participate at EuroBasket Women 2015 which will be hosted jointly by Hungary and Romania, whilst Poland will get another shot to make it when they enter the qualification round again next summer.

COACH QUOTES

Quotes Poland vs. Greece

Poland Head Coach Jacek Winnicki:"Congratulations to my girls. They were fighting really bravely. We were fighting till the very end, but we lost the first match with a big amount of points, so it was difficult to get a good score. I am happy with our victory, although we didn't qualify to the European Championship. In the second half the Greeks were more involved, we were ahead with eight points, but we weren't able to keep the lead. We finished these qualifying matches on the second position, which is disappointing for us. Together with the representatives of the Polish Basketball Federation we will analyse the game and think over our future."

Poland Player Joanna Walich:I would like to thank the girls for fighting till the end. We managed to win the game, but we missed only a few points to qualify. Unfortunately, the loss in Athens was too big, so it was very difficult in Cetniewo to catch it up."

Greece Head Coach George Dikeoulakos:"We knew that we had to catch the rhythm from the very beginning to win against Poland and we managed to do that. We knew that Poland would be better on offence, so getting a good score would be more difficult. They were playing with passion and confidence. Poland played very well in the second half of the second quarter. The 15-minute half-time break was a good thing for us, for we could reorganise our game, especially our defense. The coach bet on young, inexperienced players and he succeeded - he qualified to the Final Round."

Greece Player Artemis Spanou:"We came here to win the game. We followed our direction. We worked very hard to win the game and finally the final result came. We qualified to EuroBasket Women 2015."

55-56

57-56

00:16

Timeout

00:16

00:00

7 O. Chatzinikolaou 2PtsFG (Lay-up) missed

QUARTER 1Q 1

QUARTER 2Q 2

QUARTER 3Q 3

QUARTER 4Q 4

COACH QUOTES

Quotes Poland vs. Greece

Poland Head Coach Jacek Winnicki:"Congratulations to my girls. They were fighting really bravely. We were fighting till the very end, but we lost the first match with a big amount of points, so it was difficult to get a good score. I am happy with our victory, although we didn't qualify to the European Championship. In the second half the Greeks were more involved, we were ahead with eight points, but we weren't able to keep the lead. We finished these qualifying matches on the second position, which is disappointing for us. Together with the representatives of the Polish Basketball Federation we will analyse the game and think over our future."

Poland Player Joanna Walich:I would like to thank the girls for fighting till the end. We managed to win the game, but we missed only a few points to qualify. Unfortunately, the loss in Athens was too big, so it was very difficult in Cetniewo to catch it up."

Greece Head Coach George Dikeoulakos:"We knew that we had to catch the rhythm from the very beginning to win against Poland and we managed to do that. We knew that Poland would be better on offence, so getting a good score would be more difficult. They were playing with passion and confidence. Poland played very well in the second half of the second quarter. The 15-minute half-time break was a good thing for us, for we could reorganise our game, especially our defense. The coach bet on young, inexperienced players and he succeeded - he qualified to the Final Round."

Greece Player Artemis Spanou:"We came here to win the game. We followed our direction. We worked very hard to win the game and finally the final result came. We qualified to EuroBasket Women 2015."